In SPRING , we are planting seeds in trays and planting out seedlings into the garden rows . Our hoop house is a nursery , full of baby plants . They are transplanted into the garden rows ; the spring greens grow quickly and are ready by our first CSA harvests in mid-May . Cool springtime temperatures sweeten the succulent first greens – including lettuce , arugula , napa cabbage , asian spinach and bok choy . Dark leafy greens are packed with nutrients we need after a long winter . There are fresh zippy spring onions . Beets , radishes , kohlrabi and sweet salad turnips add a crunch to the harvest . All the crops in our spring harvests work well in a salad or a quick stir-fry , so cooking can be light and easy . Spring on the farm is fresh and new , a crispness that you can taste in the crunch of your spring CSA share .
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SUMMER comes quickly in Maryland and , along with it , green beans and zucchini , speckly patty pan squashes and the most delicious cool cucumbers . Broccoli is timed carefully to be harvested in mid-June , just before the white cabbage moths start fluttering around . Round cabbages are harvested just in time for summer picnics . CSA members can be seen on our farm picking their own cherry tomatoes from the U-Pick row , a favorite activity by kids and adults . Fourth of July means it is time to pull up the garlic . The heat of July and August brings us tomatoes , eggplant , peppers hot and sweet , and more zucchini . August is hot and slow , like the low simmer of tomato sauce cooked with garlic and basil on the stovetop . The smell of garlic and basil invite you to sit and read a book on the porch while the sauce bubbles gently .
August harvest bounty can fuel elaborate recipes with slow-cooked sauces , or kitchen prep can stay very simple . Produce fresh and sweet from the farm needs little to jazz it up . A lettuce salad doesn ’ t need a fancy dressing when the lettuce is crunchy and sweet . A simple balsamic vinaigrette will do . Slice an heirloom tomato and layer it into a grilled cheese or spread some hummus on top . It ’ s next level , just because the tomato is so very flavorful and juicy . Rip kale into pieces and massage with olive oil , sprinkle with salt and nutritional yeast . Amazing quick salad . Eggplant from the farm doesn ’ t need salting to draw out bitterness . Just marinate sliced eggplant in a little oil , then saute or grill it slowly until tender . Summer on the farm is hot and sweet and slow-paced , with sun-sweetened tomatoes ripe on the vine and peppers blushing red .
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FALL harvest features those succulent greens again , as the weather starts to match springtime temperatures again . We were just starting to miss those greens , really miss them , and now there are beets again and asian spinach and the biggest heads of lettuce . Some of the value you will find in a CSA is the bounty of a head of lettuce or a big bok choy . Straight from the farm and fresh as can be , you take home more value in leafy greens , because we don ’ t have to peel back many leaves to prepare them for store presentation . Broccoli grows the best when it is timed to harvest in November . Unlike a June broccoli harvest , November broccoli has less pest pressure and just keeps getting bigger and better over the weeks and sweeter as the temperatures drop . In the fall there are sweet potatoes to dig right out of the ground , like a treasure hunt . We invite our community to help us dig them up , a kid-pleasing event . Fall on the farm is energized by cooler weather , circling back to springtime greens and harvesting bulky storage crops like sweet potatoes and butternut squash , ready for pies .
Photos : Ilene white freedman plenty I spring sowing 2023 13